AIM:To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of sesamin(SES)on fatty liver disease in rats with hypertension combined with dyslipidemia,and to explore the potential mecha-nisms based on mRNA-seq.METHODS:Spontane-ously hypertensive rats(SHRs)were fed a high-fat,high-cholesterol diet to establish a rat model of hy-pertension combined with dyslipidemia,and then treated with SES for 16 weeks continuously.The ex-periment was divided into four groups:WKY,SHR,Model,and Model+SES(160 mg·kg-1·d-1).Blood pressure was measured using the tail-cuff method.Body weight was monitored,and body mass index was calculated.Liver morphology was detected by ultrasound,and liver thickness was measured.Liver wet weight was weighed,and liver index was calcu-lated.Liver volume was detected by the water dis-placement method.Serum triglycerides(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate amino-transferase(AST),and total bile acids(TBA)were de-tected by ELISA.Liver sequencing analysis was per-formed using mRNA-seq.Liver histomorphological changes were observed by HE staining.The degree of hepatic steatosis was observed by Oil Red O stain-ing,and the degree of hepatic fibrosis was observed by MASSON staining.The mRNA expression of Al-dh1a7,Nnmt,Irs2,Pltp,and Scd was detected by q-PCR.The protein expression of Scd,Nnmt,AMPK,p-AMPK,PPARα,and PPARγ was detected by Western blotting.RESULTS:After 16 weeks of continuous SES administration to rats with hypertension combined with dyslipidemia,blood pressure was significantly reduced(P＜0.01),and body weight was decreased.Serum TG,TC,and LDL-C levels were decreased,while HDL-C levels were increased.Serum ALT and AST levels were decreased.Liver weight,organ in-dex,liver thickness,and liver volume were de-creased.The degree of hepatic steatosis and hepat-ic fibrosis was improved.A total of 545 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified in the livers of rats in each group,of which 278 were upregulated and 267 were downregulated.Among the 27 com-monly differentially expressed mRNAs,five mRNAs related to lipid metabolism were screened,namely Aldh1a7,Nnmt,Irs2,Pltp,and Scd.KEGG enrich-ment analysis showed that the enriched pathways were AMPK and PPAR.Further validation revealed that in the SES-treated group,the mRNA expression of Scd in the liver was decreased,while the mRNA expression of Nnmt was increased.The protein ex-pression of Scd was decreased,while the protein ex-pression of Nnmt,AMPK,p-AMPK,PPARα,and PPARγ was increased.CONCLUSION:SES has preven-tive and therapeutic effects on fatty liver disease in rats with hypertension combined with dyslipidemia,and its mechanism of action may be related to the reduction of Scd expression levels in the liver and the increase in the expression of Nnmt,AMPK,p-AMPK,PPARα,and PPARγ.

AIM:To investigate the preventive and therapeutic effects of sesamin(SES)on fatty liver disease in rats with hypertension combined with dyslipidemia,and to explore the potential mecha-nisms based on mRNA-seq.METHODS:Spontane-ously hypertensive rats(SHRs)were fed a high-fat,high-cholesterol diet to establish a rat model of hy-pertension combined with dyslipidemia,and then treated with SES for 16 weeks continuously.The ex-periment was divided into four groups:WKY,SHR,Model,and Model+SES(160 mg·kg-1·d-1).Blood pressure was measured using the tail-cuff method.Body weight was monitored,and body mass index was calculated.Liver morphology was detected by ultrasound,and liver thickness was measured.Liver wet weight was weighed,and liver index was calcu-lated.Liver volume was detected by the water dis-placement method.Serum triglycerides(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low-density lipoprotein cholesterol(LDL-C),high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C),alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate amino-transferase(AST),and total bile acids(TBA)were de-tected by ELISA.Liver sequencing analysis was per-formed using mRNA-seq.Liver histomorphological changes were observed by HE staining.The degree of hepatic steatosis was observed by Oil Red O stain-ing,and the degree of hepatic fibrosis was observed by MASSON staining.The mRNA expression of Al-dh1a7,Nnmt,Irs2,Pltp,and Scd was detected by q-PCR.The protein expression of Scd,Nnmt,AMPK,p-AMPK,PPARα,and PPARγ was detected by Western blotting.RESULTS:After 16 weeks of continuous SES administration to rats with hypertension combined with dyslipidemia,blood pressure was significantly reduced(P＜0.01),and body weight was decreased.Serum TG,TC,and LDL-C levels were decreased,while HDL-C levels were increased.Serum ALT and AST levels were decreased.Liver weight,organ in-dex,liver thickness,and liver volume were de-creased.The degree of hepatic steatosis and hepat-ic fibrosis was improved.A total of 545 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified in the livers of rats in each group,of which 278 were upregulated and 267 were downregulated.Among the 27 com-monly differentially expressed mRNAs,five mRNAs related to lipid metabolism were screened,namely Aldh1a7,Nnmt,Irs2,Pltp,and Scd.KEGG enrich-ment analysis showed that the enriched pathways were AMPK and PPAR.Further validation revealed that in the SES-treated group,the mRNA expression of Scd in the liver was decreased,while the mRNA expression of Nnmt was increased.The protein ex-pression of Scd was decreased,while the protein ex-pression of Nnmt,AMPK,p-AMPK,PPARα,and PPARγ was increased.CONCLUSION:SES has preven-tive and therapeutic effects on fatty liver disease in rats with hypertension combined with dyslipidemia,and its mechanism of action may be related to the reduction of Scd expression levels in the liver and the increase in the expression of Nnmt,AMPK,p-AMPK,PPARα,and PPARγ.

Objective To investigate the effects of different sterilization methods on the quality of Astragali Radix decoction pieces by comparing the properties,odor,fingerprint,sterilization effect,extract and active component contents of Astragali Radix decoction pieces,and to further optimize the best sterilization process parameters of Astragali Radix decoction pieces.Methods The effects of moist heat sterilization,irradiation sterilization and dry heat sterilization on the quality of Astragali Radix decoction pieces were compared,and the best sterilization method was selected.Based on this,taking the content of astragaloside IV,the content of isoflavone glucoside,the total content of the two and the sterilization rate as the assessment indicators,taking the sterilization temperature,sterilization time and material thickness as the assessment factors,on the basis of the single-factor test,the response surface method was used to optimize the optimal dry heat sterilization process of Astragali Radix decoction pieces.Results The dry heat sterilization method was selected to sterilize Astragali Radix decoction pieces.The best process for dry heat sterilization was as follows:the sterilization temperature of 113℃,sterilization time of 5.1 h,and the material thickness of 19 mm.Conclusion Considering the sterilization effect,the influence on the content of active ingredients,operability and cost,selecting dry heat sterilization is the best sterilization method for Astragali Radix decoction pieces,and the optimal sterilization process is stable and feasible,with good repeatability,which can provide scientific basis for its industrial production application.

Objective To evaluate the effect of propofol (PPF) on stress response and lung injury in rats with traumatic brain injury (TBI).Methods A total of 36 SD rats were randomly (random number)divided into sham group,intralipid group,TBI group,PPF1 h group,PPF 2 h group,PPF 6 h group (n =6 in each group).Fluid percussion brain injury models were used.By intraperitoneal injection,intralipid was administered in intralipid group after sham operations,while propofol 100 mg · kg-1 was given to rats in PPF1 h group,PPF 2 h group and PPF 6 h group 1,2,6 hours following injury,respectively.Nerve motor function were scored at different intervals,serum concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH),cortisol (COR) and norepinephrine (NE) were measured 12 h after injury.Seventy-two hours later,all rats were sacrificed and brains were harvested for TTC staining,and lungs taken were stained with HE staining for observation under light microscope and electron microscopy.Results Compared with sham and intralipid group,nerve motor function scores were significantly decreased,and serum concentrations of ACTH,COR and NE were increased significantly in rats after injury.Compared with TBI group,the above biomarkers were improved significantly after propofol injection.There were no significant differences in above biomarkersbetweenPPF 1 hand PPF 2 h group (t=-0.816,t=-0.208,t=0.582,P＞0.05).The differences in COR and NE concentrations between PPF 2 h and PPF 6 h group were statistically significant (t =3.018,P =0.013;t =3.662,P =0.004).Light microscopy demonstrated abundant inflammatory cell infiltration and massive thickening of the alveolar walls,Electron microscopy showed Type Ⅱ lung epithelial cell swelling,vacuolar degeneration,osmiophilic lamellar corpuscle emptying in cytoplasm,microvilli protrusions decreases in some cytoplasm in TBI group,and pathological damage was improved significantly in PPF 2 h group.Conclusions Propofol may inhibit stress and protect the lung tissue from damage in TBI rats.

OBJECTIVETo study the mechanisms of Danggui Shaoyao San (DSS) on Alzheimer's diseases (AD) focusing on anti-inflammation.

METHODAD rats were established by intrahippocampal bilateral injection of Abeta1-42 protein. The AD rats were randomly divided into three groups: AD model group, DSS high-dose group, DSS low-dose group. Vehicle group rats were intrahippocampal bilateral injection of solvent with the same dose. The learning ability and memory of rats was investigated in step-down passive avoidance test and Morris water maze test, expression of IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha mRNA were observed by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), levels of NO was measured by colorimetric method and neuron apoptosis in the hippocampus was investigated by tag method of TdT-mediated end-labeling of fragmented DNA (TUNEL).

RESULTDSS significantly reduced the escape latency and increased the time that rats spent in the target quadrant in Morris water maze test, shortened the responsive latency and decreased the error numbers in step-down passive avoidance test, reduced the expression of the IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha mRNA, and the level of the NO depressed the neuron apoptosis in the hippocampus.

CONCLUSIONDSS improving cognition of the rats might be related to attenuate inflammatory reaction and reduce cell apoptosis in the hippocampus.

Alzheimer Disease ; drug therapy ; Animals ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; pharmacology ; Apoptosis ; drug effects ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Hippocampus ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

Objective To study the clinical characteristics and diagnosis of the solid-psendopapillary tumor of pancreas (SPT).Methods The clinical data of 40 SPT from January 1996 to January 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. The average age was (32.9 + 13.6 )years. The average clinical course was (8.6±0.1) months.Clinical symptoms usually included distensible pains and secret anguish in abdomen (60.0%).No jaundice appeared in any case.Results The surgical resection was favorable for the treatment of SPT,which had excellent prognosis.No tumor recurrence were found in those following-up patients. Grossly,the cut surface showed areas of solid and papillary tissue,cystic degeneration,hemorrhage,and necrosis.Pathological features included a combination of solid and cystic components with pseudopapillae formation and degenerative regions without glands.Conclusions SPT has its uniquely clinical and pathological characteristics.Its main diagnosed points are helpful for clinical doctors to make timely diagnosis and reduce the rate of misdiagnosis and mistreatment.

Objective To improve the diagnosis and management of solid-pseudopapillary tumor (SPT) of the pancreas. MethodsTwenty-two SPT patients were retrospectively reviewed and divided into two groups, misdiagnosed group and those with preoperatively correct diagnosis. ResultsAbout one half (46%) SPT cases were misdiagnosed preoperatively. With time SPT tends to invade its capsule resulting in impossibility of radical resection, and increased medical expenses. ConclusionsAlthough SPT is of low degree malignant, and the prognosis after surgical resection is satisfactory, misdiagnosis and preoperative misdiagnosis and inappropriate management still cost the patients increased expenses and inhospital stay.